The Condition
by Lucifersdaughter
Summary: "I'm so sorry! It's my nephew-he's very disturbed. Meeting strangers upsets him. That's why I kept him upstairs" A different take.


**Full Summary- Where the Dursleys are actually nice. A different take on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. **

**Harry's family took him in after the death of his parents killed by the Dark Lord. The Dursleys are constantly terrified that the dark lord will rise to power as there not so sure Harry can survive him again for the dark lord has left Harry deeply scarred. **

**Harry Potter has been on the Hogwarts list since birth but due to his condition it was agreed to home school him.**

**That is until Harry decides he is ready. **

**A/N: Your find out more about the condition as the story progresses. Some of the conditions symptoms you may recognize in certain disorders, others will not seem recognizable at all. **

**Harry is thirteen years old. I know the Chamber of secrets is his second year but for the sake of the story he's not going to go to Hogwarts till what should have been his third year. **

**Characters that I've changed their age: Ginny is the same age as Harry. Dudley is fifteen. Everybody else is the same age.**

**I don't normally ask for reviews but this story's going to be quite long (word length) so I need to know if the story's good enough for me to keep going. **

**Next chapters will be longer, I guess this is kind of a prologue of sorts. **

**If there are any mistakes or something is wrong with the story feel free to tell me.**

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**CHAPTER ONE- With every triumph remain's a scar**

The Dursleys weren't an ordinary family, they had no choice in the matter but that didn't mean they resented it.

On the surface they looked like just any other family. Mr. Vernon Dursley was an estate agent, he was a rather large muscular man that to others he looked rather intimidating but if you got to know him your soon find that he wasn't. Mrs. Petunia Dursley was a nurse at the hospital, she had a lanky build just what of a model and with blonde hair settling around a tanned angelic face made her the best popular nurse there.

They had a son called Dudley who seemed to take after his father in looks with a more wild personality that caused him to run around with gangs much to his parent's dismay.

However he had that one soft spot in him, that of all the family where the normality stopped.

His name was Harry Potter and he was Mrs. Dursleys sister's son. Harry had been living with them ever since he's first birthday, the day they didn't want to dwell on for it held such bad memories for them all. It was the day that Lily and James Potter, Harry's parents were murdered by Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort reined terror over the Wizarding World and the Muggle World although they didn't know it.

It was Harry that had finally killed him when Voldemort tried to kill him after his parents, no one knew how Harry managed to do this yet he did not without consequences.

Both of the families had been pretty close however living far apart they didn't get to see each other as much as they hoped so the death of the Potters hit them hard. They immediately agreed to take in their nephew but he was different from the boy they once know him as.

In defeating the dark lord it had greatly affected Harry, with headmaster of Hogwarts and the Potters friend Professor Dumbledore's help they raised Harry the best as anyone could with the condition.

The condition was something not named, the symptoms didn't have a name for what they were, not on muggle terms nor wizard terms.

Because of his condition is was agreed by the Dursleys and Professor Dumbledore that Harry be home schooled rather than attend Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry which his name had been put down to attend had it not been for Lord Voldemort.

Until Harry turned thirteen that was and decided on what would have been his third year that he wanted to go…

"But I" Harry took a deep breath. "Want to go, I'm thirteen, I just want to be like everyone else" Harry ducked his head, his fingers fumbling with the quilt covers on his bed.

"I know sweetie" Petunia smiled down at the boy, lying on his back on the bed, eyes trained up at the ceiling as he played with a rubik cube that had nearly all the sides completed.

How could she put the truth into words without seeming harsh? _You're not like everybody else_, she fought back to say _You can't go to Hogwarts! _"I'll talk to your uncle about it" She leant down and kissed him on the forehead before heading to the door.

"You're not going to let me are you?" Harry spoke up just as she grasped the doorknob.

"I never said that Harry"

"I know the truth" Petunia looked back but Harry had turned his face away, with a sigh she left the room and headed downstairs.

"What is it?" Vernon looked up at his wife noticing immediately something wrong.

"Harry wants to go to Hogwarts"

"He wants to what?"

"You heard me"

Vernon put his face in his hands. "Why?"

"He claims he's ready. Vernon we can't let him go to Hogwarts, there be no help for him there" Even a normal school they struggled to think how Harry could cope there. "I'm going to talk to Professor Dumbledore about this, see what he thinks"

Vernon nodded, just when Petunia had left he heard a bang coming from the ceiling. He sighed and walked up the stairs towards Harry's room where the banging was coming from.

"Harry" He chastised softly as Harry was set on turning over his room.

"No" Harry screamed throwing the alarm clock on the table at his uncle, narrowly missing. "I want to go. Let me"

There were moments when Harry would go into an absolute rage yet he couldn't help it when he flew into one. He wasn't a child having a tantrum which people only saw when it happened; for instance when at shopping and Harry's favourite food isn't there then he would be most likely to have a fit over it. People seeing this, don't think that he could have a problem; all they see is a child not getting their way which could be far from the truth as it is.

Now that he was older the people realised that there was but they weren't nice about it which was just another factor of Harry going to Hogwarts is how the people will treat him, they didn't even want to think of how he would be if he went.

And that was just one reason.

They were several and Harry just thought it was so simple.

"Stop now" Vernon dodged another object flying at him, wrapping his arms around the boy's middle, sitting on the bed and holding him tight until he calmed down. It was the only way you could calm him down.

"Harry" Vernon started. "We have to talk about this. You just can't suddenly decide you're going to Hogwarts and expect to find yourself there"

"It's not fair" Harry sat up against his headboard tugging himself into the corner between the wall and bed, his knees drawn up. "You're going to say no, I know it"

"Why do you want to go?" Vernon asked softly.

"Every other wizard goes and I don't like the other wizard schools, Hogwarts is the best. Besides Professor.D teaches there, I'll know someone"

"You want to go because everyone else does. Harry you-"

"I like it uncle, I really want to go there, please?" Harry turned to Vernon with such a heart-breaking expression Vernon felt like saying yes right there and then.

"We'll consider it" Vernon told him, just as Harry was about to open his mouth he hurriedly added "It's the best you can hope for"

"Fine" Harry muttered darkly before facing the wall.

When Vernon got downstairs he met his son Dudley coming in from school and asked him to look after Harry as he went to meet his wife and Professor Dumbledore to talk about the situation.

They met in all places to discuss such a subject in the nearest pub, why was because there was no other place they could meet really without being overheard and in the local pub there was no chance of that.

The Professor had remained a constant help from the start, without him Harry would not be where he is now as if anyone knew anything it was him.

"He wants to come to Hogwarts" Dumbledore repeated. "It is possible"

"You think that?" Vernon shook his head, looking away. "How can you possibly think that?"

"He is thirteen, he's older now and he is progressing, it wouldn't hurt to give it a trail run" Dumbledore spoke slowly as he got the thoughts in his head.

"Trail run no. If we do agree we'll need your absolute confidence that he'll get help he needs, that he'll be able to cope there. If anything happens, the slightest thing he comes home" Petunia grasped the table hard, hardly believing that she was saying this. She was a nurse for christ sake and she was considering, no not even that, allowing a traumatised boy to attend a boarding school before he was ready if he ever would be.

"How would you help him there?" Vernon asked, having to know everything before he even thought about the decision.

ooo

"What's wrong Harry?" Dudley asked his cousin leaning against the doorpost of the entrance to his room.

"I'm leaving, I hope"

"You want to leave me?" Dudley gasped in horror.

Harry grinned shyly up at his cousin. "No I'll miss you, I'll write"

"Where you going then?"

"Here" Harry flung the Hogwarts: A History at Dudley who just about catched it in time and flipped it around to stare at it, flipping through the first places. "Nice place"

"It's a-"

"I know what it is" Dudley interrupted him setting the book on the bed. "Mom and dad said yes?"

"No, not yet"

"Are you so sure you want to go?" Dudley asked sitting on the bed and ruffling Harry's hair who leant into his cousin.

"What do you mean?"

"Harry" Dudley turned Harry to face him. "The people there they won't understand you, there upset you, anger you"

"I'll be fine"

"No Harry you won't. It's going to be different there you will be by yourself, what if something happens who is supposed to protect you? How are you supposed to cope there?"

"I want to go" Tears lit up his eyes, Dudley's heart clenched and he drew his cousin into his chest.

"I'm sorry" Dudley told Harry waiting for the sobs to disappear and holding his cousin at length as he rubbed the rest of the tears that lay on his cheeks away. "Want to do something?"

"Like what?" Harry sniffed.

"Do you wanna bake some cookies?"

"Yeah"

"Let's go then" Dudley got all the equipment as he told Harry what ingredients to get, then reading from the instructions, him and Harry set to baking.

If his friends saw him now, Dudley thought with a wry smile, there be laughing at him.

Dudley knew what it was like to want something and then regret it and realise your to far in to get out. He had wanted respect, had wanted to be someone and had joined a gang. It had been fun at first, but then you did stuff you never wanted to do, things you have no choice in but you hate it, hate it so much but there's nothing you can do about it. People's opinions change about you drastically, in ways you never wanted to them too and that respect you wanted so much it's not there. You're not someone, all you are is a gang member, nothing special.

The regret, such regret and there's nothing to do about it. You got started and you thought there's a finishing line but there wasn't, there never will be.

It wasn't the same as going to Hogwarts he knew that but god damm him it made him think of that, if something happened to Harry there none of them would forgive themselves. And he knew about that, more than he ever wanted.

ooo

"We're going to dinner"

First off Harry is not hungry since him and Dudley ate every cookie they made and second of all he knows their picking the perfect place to tell him _no. _

It has to be no because he wasn't allowed to go the year before or the year before that, as if because he was a teenager things would change.

Harry sighed and went to get changed, picking out a green t-shirt with a frowney face and black jeans.

"Why should I go? So I can watch as you just go and disappoint him?" Harry heard through the walls of his bedroom coming from Dudley's bedroom, his voice was quite faint which was expected as the walls were rather thick and Dudley must be shouting being as Harry could hear him.

"I rather not be there to see it" Dudley finished.

Harry couldn't hear anything else as it went silent and stayed silent which keeping Dudley silent was a humongous task.

"Harry, ready?" Vernon knocked on his door.

"I am" Harry called out. "I should be sorry but I'm not"

"Its fine kiddo. Come on now"

"Don't call me that" Harry tore open the door. "I'm not a kid anymore"

"You'll always me a kid to me" Vernon ruffled Harry's hair ignoring the boy's protests.

They went to a restaurant that was one of Harry's favourites which didn't make Harry feel any better.

"Nice shirt" Dudley smirked hanging back to walk up to the front door of the restaurant with Harry, who's motor skills was poor causing Harry to not being able to properly walk till he was five years. Now he wasn't to walk very far or with a normal pace without getting uncontrollably out of breath.

"Well yes" Harry glanced down. "Perfect top for the occasion"

"Should have worn an smiley face top then"

"You mean?" Harry looked up at his cousin his eyes shining.

"I don't know Harry. There's hope I think"

Harry hoped Dudley was right as he navigated his way through to the corner table as to feel safe which if he sat in the opening he would not.

They hadn't sat down long when an waitress came up to them. She wasn't the usual waitress and as Harry glanced around the place he did not see her anywhere. Drat. He liked her, she was pretty with green eyes and red hair she reminded him of his mother but she wasn't here and he did not like the look of the new waitress, he scowled into the tablecloth.

"Harry, what are you having?" Petunia asked. He lifted his eyes to first his aunt and then the menu scanning all the food listed on there.

"Steak"

"You don't like steak"

"Oh…

"You don't like that either"

Harry shoved his menu away. "Fine, then what do the fuck I like?"

"Harry don't swear" Petunia rebuked him. "He'll have pasta"

"Oh will I now? I like that, do I?"

"Pasta" Vernon nodded at the waitress and waited for her to leave before turning to Harry. "Stop it, now"

"You're the one controlling what I eat like you control where I go-"

"Keep this up and you won't go to Hogwarts full stop"

Harry stumped in his seat. "Sorry" He twirled the fork on the table in his hand. "So can I go?"

"To Hogwarts?"

"No to fucking space"

"Harry!"

"Sorry!"

"Harry breathe"

His hands flew to his throat with the realization he had stopped breathing. He gulped in the air, air that wasn't cool enough because it was too hot in here, too many people and too full of the overpowering smell of food.

"Let's go outside for a bit, yeah Harry?" Dudley said noticing his cousin's distress.

Harry nodded, Dudley grabbed his hand and pulled him out of there.

"You can go to Hogwarts Harry" Dudley peered into the night. "Looks like rain"

"Oh really?" Harry grabbed Dudley's shoulders tightly that Dudley winced but allowed it. "Isn't this just a great day? I'm going to Hogwarts and it's raining"

Dudley held back a chuckle and nodded eagerly. "Yes Harry"

"Come on" Harry rushed back inside at his own pace and threw his arms around Petunia and Vernon. "Thank you so much" Harry gushed, sitting back in his seat.

"What?" Dudley said when Vernon turned to him. "I told him and what?"

"When do I go?" Harry asked.

"September the 1st. Your tutor, Mr. Beckman"

"Tommy"

"Yes Tommy-will arrive tomorrow. He's going to take you to Diagon Alley to get your school stuff and explain about Hogwarts and then on the 1st he'll take you to where you board a train to the school"

"What day is it today?"

"26th of August"

5 days, 5 days and he was there.

It was raining when they got out the restaurant. Harry titled his face towards the sky catching the raindrop in his mouth while the rest trickled down his body and hit the floor to gather in a puddle.

Harry started to run, run and skip and catch all the rain in his hands and mouth, his excitement at the rain and going to Hogwarts overtaking him that Vernon just about pulled Harry back from being hit by a car.


End file.
